Thoughts and News on Criminal Justice and Correctional Policy in California

Tuesday, January 31, 2012

BREAKING NEWS: Bill to Amend Three Strikes Law Passes Assembly

Assembly Bill 327, introduced by Assembly Member Davis, passed in the assembly today. The new bill, whose text can be found here in full, would activate the "third strike" life imprisonment provision only if the third felony is for a serious or violent felony.

What counts as "serious or violent" felony is defined in section 667.5 of the existing penal code. The category includes serious offenses like murder, attempted murder, rape and kidnapping, but also first degree burglary, extortion and the like. It would seem to exclude some of the more scandalous examples of three strikes practices, in which the third offense would be petty theft of some sort.

The bill now moves to the senate floor. But getting too excited about this may be premature; the bill explicitly specifies that it only comes into effect if approved by voters in the 2014 election.

6 comments:

Rosemarie
said...

What is missing greatly is the justice,those who had priors even years before the 3 strike law was even a law should not be counted as strikes,they did their time.They even took plea bargains as to not have to risk the maximum of years if fully sentenced yet they are serving 25 to life,face it under what if someday they should be charged and convicted even if they should be innocent? That is all unjust,to amend that law,it is falling short the countless numbers of humans that have been sentenced and will be for many generations to come!

eI agree with you. I think that daytime burgs with no one home should not be counted as a serious felony but just a stright felony. Most burglary are done by drug addicts. The money We need to get back to rehab. and prison re-entry programs is being used to house these people like animals in cages. YES SOME PEOPLE NEED TO BE LOCKED UP FOREVER, PEOPLE WHO HURT OTHER PEOPLE PHYSICALLY NOT BY STEALING AN IPOD AND WATCH OFF THEIR COFFEE TABLE TO SEE FOR DRUGS.

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We are faculty members and students at UC Hastings College of the Law, affiliated with the Hastings Institute for Criminal Justice. Our posts reflect our respective personal opinions and analyses of correctional and criminal justice policies.